by Pierre Jean de Béranger (1780 - 1857)
Translation by William Young (1809 - 1888)
The prisoner
Language: English  after the French (Français)
"Queen of the waves! thy light bark speed along, And sing, whilst Echo lengthens out thy song. Clear is the stream and calm; soft breezes blow; Queen of the waves, Heaven smiles; thy light bark swiftly row!" Thus through the bars a captive pours his lay, Who sees the fairest maiden, day by day, Hold, o'er the waves that bathe his prison-walls, her way. "Queen of the waves! thy light bark speed along, And sing, whilst Echo lengthens out thy song. Clear is the stream and calm; soft breezes blow; Queen of the waves, Heaven smiles; thy light bark swiftly row! I, in life's prime doomed to the captive's fate, In this old fortress lone and desolate, Await each day thy course as freedom I await. Queen of the waves! thy light bark speed along, And sing, whilst Echo lengthens out thy song. Clear is the stream and calm; soft breezes blow; Queen of the waves, Heaven smiles; thy light bark swiftly row! The water gives thine image, tall and fair; Thy bust is seen in happy outline there. Whom doth thy sail obey? is't Love's, or Zephyr's care? Queen of the waves! thy light bark speed along, And sing, whilst Echo lengthens out thy song. Clear is the stream and calm; soft breezes blow; Queen of the waves, Heaven smiles; thy light bark swiftly row! What hope intoxicates my heart! set free From this strong-hold, soon shall I cling to thee, My liberator! bliss on the other shore must be. Queen of the waves! thy light bark speed along, And sing, whilst Echo lengthens out thy song. Clear is the stream and calm; soft breezes blow; Queen of the waves, Heaven smiles; thy light bark swiftly row! Thy course is stayed: methinks, thy drooping eye Melts at my woes. Alas! thou passest by, Like evanescent hope -- thou'rt gone, and I must die! Queen of the waves! thy light bark speed along, And sing, whilst Echo lengthens out thy song. Clear is the stream and calm; soft breezes blow; Queen of the waves, Heaven smiles; thy light bark swiftly row! Snatched from me, then, is that enchanting dream! But no -- thy hands outstretched in pity seem: Star of my life, for me, tomorrow thou shalt beam! Queen of the waves! thy light bark speed along, And sing, whilst Echo lengthens out thy song. Clear is the stream and calm; soft breezes blow; Queen of the waves, Heaven smiles; thy light bark swiftly row!"
Authorship:
- by William Young (1809 - 1888), "The prisoner", appears in Béranger: two hundred of his lyrical poems done into English verse, no. 35, first published 1850 [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Pierre Jean de Béranger (1780 - 1857), "Le prisonnier", subtitle: "Air de la Balançoire, d'Amédee de Beauplan"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2011-02-04
Line count: 46
Word count: 413